Whispers of the Wind
by Mystery Stranger
Summary: A collection of oneshots about Yoh's past.
1. Whispers of the Wind

Title: Whispers of the Wind  
>Characters: Yoh; minor role for Asami and Kei; some nameless OCs<br>Rating: 13+ (maybe?)  
>Warning: Death is mentioned, dark theme, no beta<br>Disclaimer: Yamane Ayano owns the VF universe

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><p>The moon shone beautifully upon the grounds, yet it's peace and serenity could not seem to reach the mansion. At the northern end, a dim light peeked out from one of the windows. Through a crack in the curtain, a boy of five could be seen hugging his blanket.<p>

"Mommy, why doesn't daddy like me?"

"Sleep honey, it's way past your bed time." The woman's voice was soft and tender as she gently coaxed the boy to rest.

As the boy fell asleep, a light wind shifted the curtains, and tears could be seen on the mother's face. "He suspects something, he suspects something," she kept on repeating.

When she finally leaned forward to kiss the boy on his forehead, she whispered, "I'm sorry honey, but one day, you will be able to see your real father.

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><p>It was a regular day for the small outdoor cafe, with business booming and people happily chatting away. But as a boy of eleven walked by, hushed whispers broke out.<p>

"Hey, isn't that boy the son of that famous actress?"

"Ya, wasn't she recently divorced?"

"She was with that politician right?"

"What a pity, a well respected politician and a famous actress, they could've had anything they wanted."

"So why did they separate?"

The whispers grew quieter, "there's a rumor that she had cheated on him."

"Come to think of it, that boy looks nothing like that politician."

Murmurs of agreement could be heard.

The boy walked on, ignoring the too loud whispers. He was not bothered by this, he's used to it by now.

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><p>In an abandoned alleyway, a man and a woman lay on the gravel. Their bodies already cold. Yet despite the paleness of their flesh, and the numerous wounds curved into them, it was easy to tell, that both had been beautiful when they were alive.<p>

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><p>On this night, the clouds overshadowed everything. Within the darkness, a boy of thirteen knelt before a small gravestone, softly caressing the freshly turned earth. It was too dark to see the boy's expression, but when he spoke, he sounded far too calm.<p>

"Father, I suppose we won't get a chance to meet after all."

"Mother, the media and the police may claim to not know the culprit, but I know better. I will avenge you mother."

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><p>These days, the boy's name was never again heard. Even his mother's name was only ever mentioned in memory. As far as the world was concerned, the boy never existed.<p>

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><p>"If memory serves, this man isn't easily taken down."<p>

"No sir, he's meticulous when his safety is concerned. He always took every precaution to protect himself, as he had many enemies due to his standing in the political world."

"Yet, to be assassinated by a boy barely out of his teens... What's the boy's name?"

"It's Yoh, sir."

"Yoh," this was uttered as if trying on for size.

"You wish to make use of him, sir?"

A smirk, "bring the boy to me, Kirishima. I have a feeling he'll need some help escaping the authorities."

"Of course, Asami-sama."

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><p>The wind blew viciously, as the boy once again made his existence known.<p> 


	2. A Game of Detectives

Title: A Game of Detectives

Characters: guess

Rating: K

Warning: pure crack, but it tells you what name I'm going to be using for the next oneshot

Disclaimer: Yamane Ayano owns the VF universe

A/N: While I was editing the other oneshot I'm planning to post soon, still having a lot of trouble with the wording in many scenes, this popped into mind. Enjoy!

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><p>A seven year old Hikaru frowned. "Why do we need code names to play Objects-hide-and-seek? I don't see the point."<p>

"That's because in order to find the objects the other team hid, we need to be detectives. You know, look for clues." Explained a nine year old while gesturing grandly, as if what he had said made perfect sense.

"Ok..." Responded a not at all convinced Hikaru, but also not about to argue the point. "Hmm," He scratched his chin, looking thoughtful. "I'll use Yoh."

"What?" five collective gasps as his friends suddenly all turned toward him, bewilderment in their eyes?

What kind of name is that?" The nine year old asked.

"Don't tell me that's all you can come up with?" The ten year old piped up.

"Pick something cooler!" A wide eyed eight year old insisted.

"Like Vampire Cat!" An eleven year old suggested.

"Or Flying Dog!" The other eight year old added his two cent. (A/N: not very creative are they?)

"Ok, ok, I got the point." Hikaru had his hands held up in the surrender gesture and looked thoroughly put to the spot. "Just calm down guys. Seriously though, shouldn't code names be more subtle? So it sounds normal and are less likely to attract attention."

"What kind of logic are you following?" The eleven year old scowled.

"Yeah, we're playing a detective game, not Who-can-think-of-the-most-boring-name game." The ten year old sounded exasperated.

"Err... Aren't detectives supposed to be discrete?" Hikaru glanced at his friends, not seeing a single pair of eyes lit up in understanding.

"Huh? Where did you get that from?" The wide eyed one had his arms across his chest and a pout on his face.

Looking at all the incredulous faces, Hikaru finally relented. "Never mind, I'll use Batman."

"Oh good one!" Exclaimed the nine year old. Everyone nodded their agreement, their previous disbelief instantly forgotten.

"Now onward with the game" The ten year old announced dramatically while striking the superman pose.

And so passes another day for young Hikaru. Another normal day that's unlikely to be remembered.

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><p>AN: Of course a seven year old Yoh is going to be way smarter than the other kids who are older than him. Not surprising right?


	3. The Family That Never Was

Title: The Family That Never Was  
>Characters: Yoh (I used Hikaru, since Yoh is likely a pseudonym, and he's only a child in this story) and his parents<br>Rating: NC13  
>Warning: Some violence against a wonderful child, no beta<br>Disclaimer: Yamane Ayano owns the VF universe (Yoh's parents are mine)

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><p>It was late in the afternoon when Hikaru stepped out of the school building. The sun shone directly into his eyes and blinded him, making everything appear dark and surreal. Hikaru shivered involuntarily, feeling like a bad omen was about him. He couldn't quite place it, but something felt out of place, he could sense it. Frowning slightly, Hikaru shrugged it off. Maybe his coach was right; he was too excited from that win to feel how tired he actually was. He should probably just go home and rest. He did put a lot of effort into that soccer match earlier in the afternoon.<p>

The place Hikaru called home was a mansion seemingly secluded due to the trees surrounding it. Hikaru was able to live in such a place because his father, Daichi, was a successful politician, and his mother, Ayame, was a famous actress.

When Hikaru got home, he headed to the living room to see if either of his parents were there. He saw his father sitting on the sofa reading some paper. "Dad, I'm home." Hikaru announced enthusiastically, hoping to tell someone about his accomplishment on the soccer team today.

"Hn." A non-committal grunt was all Hikaru got, his father didn't even bother to look up.

Feeling a bit dejected and lonely, but not about to give up, Hikaru went around the mansion in search of his mother. After the third round, and not seeing any of the usual signs that announced her presence, Hikaru finally decided to ask. "Dad, is mom home yet?"

"No. Should you really be wandering around? Don't you have homework?" Daichi answered without bothering to look up. Really, the boy was trying his patience these days.

"I got my homework done at school. It's just, with the production near its deadline, I was wondering if mom is on the set again." Hikaru tried to answer calmly, even though he was hurt by his father's coldness.

"How the hell should I know?" Daichi suddenly looked up, clearly annoyed. "Go mind your own business."

Unable to push anymore for an answer under his father's stern gaze, Hikaru looked down and walked out of the room.

After wandering around a bit more, Hikaru ended up in his room. Dropping onto his bed, the eleven year old suddenly felt so tired. The events of the day having finally caught up to him. That soccer match had taken its toll, not surprising considering how hard he worked at making sure that his team won. Of course, Daichi's cold attitude certainly didn't help matters one bit.

Hikaru signed and looked up at the ceiling. He had the strong urge to just fall asleep and forget about everything, but that nagging feeling from the afternoon crept in again making him too agitated to even rest for a bit. Frustrated and a bit angry at his own lack of self-control, he growled, although it sounded more like a whine coming from an eleven year old, but who's there to hear and tell? Hikaru signed once again and wondered what the heck is wrong with himself. Honestly, he was the goddamned captain of his school's soccer team, the best elementary school soccer team in the whole region. So why was he letting a random bout of depression, caused by the blazing sun no less, bother himself. However, no matter how hard Hikaru tried, he just couldn't shake the feeling. It's as if his gut is telling him that something isn't quite right.

Hikaru signed for the umpteen's time that day, and decided that he would sort out the bad feeling later and focus on the matter at hand.

_I wonder what's happening with mom and dad. Dad may be cold, but he rarely snapped at me. Recently though, he seemed more and more agitated, makes me feel like something's about to come down. And mom too, what's with constantly coming home late? It couldn't be the filming, because I know for a fact her schedule right now isn't necessarily that busy, which means it's likely something else. It's like she's doing something she doesn't want people to know about, but doesn't she realize that dad notices her absence?_

Letting out another long-suffering sigh, Hikaru decided that he would ponder this some other time, because he really was too tired to care about it at the moment. Pulling the covers around himself, Hikaru drifted off with the nagging feeling still at the back of his mind.

Later that night, Hikaru woke up to find that it was already past midnight. He idly wondered why his mother didn't wake him up. Ayame usually did when she came home to find him asleep, just so she could make sure he ate enough. Not that Hikaru doesn't, he was just tired sometimes and had to sleep for a bit before worrying about food. Well, that and the fact that he liked the attention she gives him. Ayame does love tucking him into bed and kissing him goodnight even though he insisted that he doesn't need it any more, he was eleven already. Although, Hikaru knew that his insistence just made her do it more often, it was his secret guilty pleasure and he wasn't about to ruin it by telling her that.

Hikaru began to get worried after he checked the clock again. Despite how busy Ayame was, his mother always made sure to get home before it was officially his bedtime. Either that or she made sure to inform him if she really couldn't get away from work. So knowing all of that, coupled with the nagging feeling from before still simmering at the back of his mind, he started to wonder if maybe something had happened to her.

Hikaru got up, silently slid out of his room and padded down the hall to his mother's room to check. When he had no luck there, he headed straight for the front door where his mother always hung her purse on the coat rack there.

Before Hikaru reached his destination, he heard voices in the direction of the sitting room. The sounds were too faint for him to hear anything distinctive, but one of them sounded like his mother. Curious now and hoping that his ears hadn't lied to him, Hikaru went to investigate.

The voices paused as Hikaru got closer, making him eager to learn the content of the conversation. So he crept forward like a stealthy cat on silent feet. Noticing a faint scent, but shrugging it off, Hikaru got right up to the slightly ajar door without making a single sound. Feeling proud of his skills, he was about to peek inside when the voices started again.

Yep, it was definitely Ayame, but she doesn't sound too pleased. "You know I never wanted this, but I was young back then and my parents insisted. Seriously Daichi, isn't it better that we end this? So we can both get on with our lives and stop fooling ourselves."

_What? What is she talking about?_Hikaru suddenly felt very confused. He carefully peeked inside and hoped that some form of explanation will follow.

"Divorce? Are you out of your mind? Do you know what that'll do to my reputation?" Daichi was seething, and was that a hint of desperation laced in his voice?

If anything, this just made Hikaru even more confused. _Why are they talking about divorce? Where did that even come from? And why does dad seem so uncontrolled?_

_Wait a minute._

_Is he drunk?_

_So that's what that smell is._

Hikaru watched as Daichi felt around blindly on a tabletop and grabbed what must have been a remote and threw it across the room. The remote glanced off the side of Ayame's head, causing her to cry out. She grabbed her head and dropped to her knees as a wave of dizziness hit her. Hikaru forgot about watching quietly and allowed his legs to propel him forward into the room to his mother's side. "Mom, are you ok?"

Touching the already forming bump on the side of his mother's head, Hikaru frowned. _Why is dad acting like this, he's usually distant towards me but, he's never been violent, especially not to mom?_

"Hikaru, shouldn't you be sleeping?" Ayame looked up at the sound of Hikaru's voice and asked, her own plight temporarily forgotten.

Daichi will not be easily dismissed, "You little brat," he yelled, unable to control his anger and frustration. "Why are you up in the middle of the night? This is between your mother and me, stay out of it!"

"That doesn't warrant you hurting mom. Whatever the problem is, couldn't you talk it out?" The pitch of Hikaru's voice rose slightly as he was becoming nervous and a little frightened at the way his father was bristling.

"Talk? How dare you little bastard suggest that? Your mother and I are done talking. You want to know why your mother's been out so late? It's not because she's on the set of another fucking movie, she's whoring herself out to god knows who it is." Ayame looked between father and son, unsure of what to do, and feeling too disoriented to care about the insult at the moment.

Hikaru stood suddenly, pushing away the wariness and fear, his gaze hardened. He would not take this, his mother has to be protected! "Stop it. Just stop saying things like that. You're drunk. You don't know what you're talking about. Mom's been out working, that's why she's out till so late." Hikaru defended even as he doubted himself. He had been suspecting some things for a while now. The derogative terms his father unwittingly let out simply confirmed things. Those were the last few pieces of the puzzle, and now that they had suddenly fallen into place, his life made much more sense. The difficulties between his father and him, and the way his parents acted around each other.

However, Hikaru knew that right now was not the time to think about it. Ayame had always taken care of him, and it was his turn to do the same. "Since you're drunk right now, you should just leave mom alone." Hikaru glared defiantly into Daichi's eyes, hoping that the message would be received through the drunken haze the man was in.

Luck was not on Hikaru's side at this time. Daichi, tired of being yelled at by the son he was never sure what to do about, stalked over and swiftly backhanded the boy, sending to kid crashing to the floor to cradle his burning cheek.

That was the last straw. Ayame quickly pulled her son into a protective embrace and screamed at the man who was the cause of this. "Do you even see yourself? And what you just did? Hikaru did nothing wrong, nothing to warrant you hitting him!" Taking a deep breath, Ayame tried to calm herself, so she can have a better idea of what to do next. "This is it. I refuse to put up with you anymore, not when you will harm my son."

Speechless for a moment, Daichi could only breathe harshly in the suddenly still air. Then, "Fine. If you want to leave, go! Get out! Get the hell out now!" Daichi's hands searched feverishly for something, to find purchase, to have something to grab onto and throw. Coming up with nothing as his fingers only met air, Daichi snarled, "And don't forget to take that bastard of a son with you!"

Breaking the mutually outraged gaze, Ayame pulled her son up with her and headed straight for the front entrance.

As Hikaru put on his coat, he found his mother crouching down in front of him, her hands soft as one of them caressed his swelling cheek, the coldness of her fingers soothing on his heated flesh. Ayame's other hand brushed across his upper lip, and from the sting, he could tell that he also had a split lip. She stared into his eyes as her hands dropped onto his shoulders. Hikaru knew from her grip and her gaze that as much as she was trying to reassure him that things will eventually work out, she needed that assurance as well. So he took her hands into his smaller ones and briefly squeezed them as he gave her a smile. Tears appeared in Ayame's eyes as she broke his gaze and stood up to put on her own coat then led him out of the door.

As Hikaru trotted after his mother down the familiar path, he pondered on what had just happened. His father had hit him, backhanded him to be exact, but he wasn't too upset about it, it was only a split lip and a bruised cheek, he had gotten far worse injuries from things like soccer. He was surprised though, his father may have always been cold towards him, but has never actually hit him before.

Hikaru really wasn't too upset, he tried telling himself that, even as his eyes burned with the threat of tears. To top it off, the words his father uttered hurt. Hikaru knew they were true in some sense. It wasn't too hard to guess despite how hard both of his parents had tried to hide it from him. Well Ayame tried, Daichi probably wasn't even too sure himself. Nevertheless, the cold attitude made Hikaru suspicious, so there were times when he doubted things and checked it. Hikaru discovered that he couldn't find a single feature of his father's on himself, so of course he suspected that he was illegitimate; but with how hard his mother tried to make things work out, he just had to believe her, or at least pretend to believe her with the hope that things might work out.

What happened a few minutes ago dashed that hope.

Daichi's words and the resulting confirmation of the circumstances of Hikaru's birth, stung. They stung much more than the light throb on his cheek, or the small twinge of pain on his upper lip.

As tears again threatened to break out from his eyes, Hikaru resolutely pushed his hurt feelings away. He can reflect on them later, he couldn't afford to dwell on it now and cry in front of his mother. She needed all the support he can give, and he was going to give it to her no matter what, because he was a big boy now, practically a young man!

Hikaru found it a bit odd that Ayame opted to walk instead of using a car. Perhaps it had a calming effect? Or maybe she just needed time to think. As they walked down the mostly deserted roads, Hikaru's mind once again drifted back to what happened earlier. He knew why his father had hit him, Daichi was drunk and therefore had little inhibition and Hikaru himself had just been provoking the man. Although, being drunk wasn't a very good excuse, but Hikaru knew there was a reason to that as well. He knew his parents were having trouble communicating lately.

Actually, for as far back as Hikaru can remember, his parents were never quite comfortable with each other. He didn't think too much on it when he was young and clueless, and therefore didn't know that there was a problem. He just pegged it off as how parents normally acted around each other. Yet, as time went by, Hikaru began to suspect that something wasn't quite right. The feelings of unease weren't strong enough that he paid it much attention, but it was strong enough that he was well aware of the distance between his parents and that it wasn't entirely normal. Then there was that snip bit of argument he caught before he burst into the room. It would appear that it had to do with Ayame and Daichi's marriage being an arranged one. It also became apparent to Hikaru that his mother was never happy with the arrangement and wanted out from the beginning. It would seem that Daichi had clung desperately to it because he did love Ayame, or at least he felt he did when it was likely just possessiveness and thus didn't want their union to end. Still, even as a young child, Hikaru knew that relationships couldn't work out well if the feelings aren't mutual.

Hikaru really couldn't blame either of his parents for what had happened on this night, because when the bond of marriage simply wasn't enough to hold their family together, what else were they to do but to fall apart. He supposed the only thing he could blame was that goddamned tradition known as arranged marriage, for misleading Daichi into believing that he actually had a chance with Ayame when it was never so.

Hikaru was pulled out of his reverie when Ayame tugged on his arm for slowing down. He looked up to see the faraway look on his mother's face and wondered what she could be thinking about. With another absent-minded tug on his arm, he hurried after her.

As they fled into the night with Ayame holding onto his hand tightly, Hikaru whispered a goodbye to the place that was his home for the past eleven years and to the father he never really got a chance to know well.

Little did Hikaru knew that not only was that the last he'll see of Daichi for a long time, but things were about to get much worse, and the next time he sees Daichi, it will be under a completely new light.

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><p>AN: Hopefully my characterization of Yoh is acceptable... The reason I picked 'Hikaru' was because it meant light or radiance. The way I pictured it, he was his mother's light. That and I'm hoping he could be Fei's light as well.


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